![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Kings-Park-300x225.jpg\")
<\/a>Pete in Kings Square<\/p><\/div>\n
St. John, New Brunswick – <\/strong>Prior to this trip I couldn\u2019t tell you the difference between New Brunswick and Old Brunswick.\u00a0 Oh, there is no Old Brunswick?\u00a0 So I really wasn\u2019t that excited about getting off the boat in St. John, but now having been there, I\u2019m very excited to tell you about it.\u00a0 It is a great little town that we had shown to us on Pete\u2019s Walking Tour<\/strong>, yes, the same Pete from Pete\u2019s Pub<\/strong>.\u00a0 Oh yeah, you don\u2019t know about Pete\u2019s Pub.\u00a0 Let me start at the beginning.\u00a0 I must say it again, our trip through Acadia National Park<\/strong> could have been much better, except our guide was a goof, this guide made<\/em> the tour.\u00a0 Aside from being one of those people that you just liked immediately, Pete owned a pub in St. John for 35 years, prior to Covid shutting it down.\u00a0 He then found his real calling in life, as a tour guide to the city he grew up in. \u00a0Our walk through the city was two-and-a-half hours, but it was so interesting and informative that it went by in a flash.\u00a0 Pete gave us names and dates of historical people and occurrences, in those two-and-a-half hours, without ever referring to any notes.\u00a0 He also told us a few of his old pub jokes, like the time a couple of tough Irish longshoremen came into his pub at nine o\u2019clock in the morning and wanted a drink; Pete told them that they didn\u2019t open until ten; they didn’t move and looked at him rather sternly, he then said, \u201cWould you like to have a drink while you wait?\u201d<\/p>\n Kings Square Pavilion today<\/p><\/div>\n Kings Square Pavilion next month<\/p><\/div>\n St. John\u2019s history includes a robust shipbuilding industry that attracted many workers, mostly Irish, and at one time made it the third most populous city in Canada, after Montreal and Quebec. St. John\u2019s early history includes many battles between the French<\/strong> and the English<\/strong>, during the 17th<\/sup> century and in the 18th<\/sup> century St. John became a city inhabited by \u2018Loyalists\u2019<\/strong> \u2013 those who left America, who were on the side of the British during the Revolutionary War<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Our walk on this beautiful day took us through picturesque Kings Square <\/strong>park,\u00a0where we were shown a photo of this unique park in the winter.\u00a0 We knew we were among the last cruise ships to stop here this year, as from this point forward, the weather gets mighty cold and windy.\u00a0 It is really a great little city, although I just wouldn\u2019t want to spend a winter there.<\/p>\n Hallifax, Nova Scotia (New Scotland)\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n Peggy’s Cove<\/p><\/div>\n Our last stop on this cruise began with us getting off the ship in the morning and taking a walk on the Halifax waterfront<\/strong> on a picture-perfect day.\u00a0 They were expecting the temperature to get up to the 70s (a record for this time of year here).\u00a0 There was not a cloud in the sky, so it was a great day to explore this fascinating city.\u00a0 Our walk on the boardwalk took us about an hour in a half – lots of tee shirt shops and restaurants.\u00a0 We had to get back on the ship to meet up with our group so we could get back off the ship for the start our bus tour of Peggy\u2019s Cove<\/strong> and the Titanic Grave Site<\/strong>.<\/p>\n We climbed on the tour bus and found that our guide was very well qualified, as he was raised in this city, worked in this city’s school district and retired in this city to a job of being a tour guide.\u00a0 Our bus was going to take us to Peggy\u2019s Cove<\/strong>, which was about an hour drive, but our tour guide filled that hour with many facts about the history of the British<\/strong> and the French<\/strong> fighting over this area, as well as the growth of industries based on beaver skins and lobsters.\u00a0 Our guide told us the story of when he was a junior high school principal and his effort to help better prepare his students-athletes, who all thought they were going to play professional hockey.\u00a0 He would ask them to make sure they had a Plan B<\/strong>.\u00a0 When he asked seventh-grader, Sydney Crosby<\/strong> what his Plan B was, Crosby said, \u201cEndorsements!\u201d\u00a0 Today, Crosby has been one of the premier players in the NHL<\/strong> and has plenty of endorsements \u2013 so \u2018check\u2019 for both Plan A and Plan B.<\/p>\n We arrived at Peggy\u2019s Cove <\/strong>(there’s two stories about who Peggy was and why this is her cove, Google it if you care), which is a beautiful, rocky peninsula with one of those classic red and white light houses at the end – it is a spectacular day!\u00a0 After exploring the area, there is a restaurant there where I decided I could get my full lobster lunch.\u00a0 We wait in line to be seated and before she seats us we tell the hostess we have about 30 minutes before we have to get back on the bus, and if that’s enough time to have the lobster lunch?\u00a0 She says that\u2019s not enough time to cook and serve you a lobster \u2013 of course!!!<\/p>\n Titanic gravesite<\/p><\/div>\n Our final stop of the day was at the cemetery where 121 victims of the Titanic<\/strong> were buried in 1912.\u00a0 Our guide walked us through the cemetery and pointed out gavesites, and had several stories about a number of the Titanic victims and their families.\u00a0 Some of the victims are still unknown and thus the gravestones are marked only by a number, which was the number that the rescuers assigned to each body as they found them.<\/p>\n We learned about the booming lobster trade here, how expensive it is to get into the business, how limited the lobster licenses are \u2013 everything except actually getting to eat a lobster.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lobster Update: <\/strong>This was our last stop and I\u2019ve gone \u2018lobster-less\u2019 at every port!!!!<\/p>\n Bye Bye!!!<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Next Monday: Cruise Epilogue and a Photo Finish (Finally!)<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Bob Sparrow St. John, New Brunswick – Prior to this trip I couldn\u2019t tell you the difference between New Brunswick and Old Brunswick.\u00a0 Oh, there is no Old Brunswick?\u00a0 So I really wasn\u2019t that excited about getting off the … read more![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/kings-fall-225x300.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Kings-snow.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Peggys-225x300.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Peggy-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>Our guide then related several stories about 9\/11<\/strong>\u00a0and how airlines headed to the US from Europe at the time, were diverted to Nova Scotia,<\/strong> where local families took in the passengers for several days, until flights were once again allowed to enter the U.S.\u00a0 He said that many of those airline guests still stay in touch with their Nova Scotia host family.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Titanic.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/lobster-1-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>